ThinkTankWeekly

The Clarity Act Needs to Offer More Clarity

CATO | 2026-06-22 | economy

Topics: United States

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English Summary

The article argues that while the Clarity Act is a commendable step toward defining jurisdictional lines between the SEC and CFTC for digital assets, it suffers from critical structural flaws. Key issues include definitional inconsistencies—treating ancillary assets as securities-like without proper statutory classification—and leaving the crucial transition criteria (from SEC to CFTC oversight) subject to agency discretion rather than codified law. For effective policy, Congress must address these gaps by defining ancillary assets as a distinct category, statutorily codifying the decentralization test, and inverting the current presumption so that the burden of proof rests with the regulator.

中文摘要

本文論述,儘管《清晰法案》(Clarity Act)是界定證券交易委員會(SEC)與商品期貨交易委員會(CFTC)在數位資產管轄權劃分方面的一項值得稱讚的進展,但其仍存在關鍵結構性缺陷。主要問題包括定義上的不一致——將輔助資產視為類似證券,卻缺乏適當的法定分類;以及讓至關重要的過渡標準(從SEC轉向CFTC監督)受制於機構裁量而非成文法規。為制定有效的政策,國會必須彌補這些漏洞,具體措施包括:將輔助資產定義為一個獨立類別、立法編纂去中心化測試的標準,並顛覆現行推定原則,使舉證責任轉移至監管機構。

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